2023-09-26 11:08:42
Appearance of the main stage of the SLS rocket for the Artemis II mission with its four RS 25 engines – NASA/ERIC BORDELON
MADRID, 26 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
NASA engineers have structurally joined the four RS-25 engines of the main body of the Artemis II lunar rocket, the first manned mission of the program, whose objective will be orbit the satellite.
It is currently scheduled for release in November 2024.
Technicians added the first engine to the core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on September 11. The teams installed the second engine on the stage on September 15 and the third and fourth engines on September 19 and 20.
Technicians from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne – prime contractor for the RS-25 engines – along with Boeing, the prime contractor for the rocket’s core stage, will now focus their efforts on the complex task of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the systems. electric and propulsion within the stage. structure, NASA reports.
The 64-meter SLS core stage is the backbone of the lunar rocket. Its two massive propellant tanks provide more than 2,774 kitros (733,000 gallons) of super-cold liquid propellant to the four RS-25 engines, while the flight computers, avionics and stage electrical systems act as the “brains” of the rocket.
With the liftoff of Artemis II, the RS-25 engines together will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust (907 tons) during eight minutes of flighthelping to send the crew of Artemis II beyond low-Earth orbit to venture around the Moon.
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